Adoption from Manticore
by YokoYuyGal
Summary: Lupin finds a muggle orphan. Max, the newly escaped from Manticore transgenic. Dark AngelHarry Potter crossover. MaxZack.
1. Prologue

Disclamer: I don't own it never have and never will

HI! so...this is a Dark Angel/Harry Potter crossover. the prologue is errrr...maybe 2 years before Harry's 1st year, and during the escape. You should know, this will be Max/Zack, I don't hate Logan, so I didn't write him in. Enjoy.

Prologue

November 19, 2009

It had been Zack's decision. He was their commanding officer, and he always took care of them. Even when he knew it would be easier to let them be punished by the trainers, he tried to keep even the weakest of their group safe by picking up any slack. It must have been the small amounts wolf DNA that the scientists had decided to put into that X-5 group. It helped them stick together, and he, as their leader, was willing to give any thing to keep his baby brothers and sisters safe.

Despite the speed with which the plan was put together, it had been planned out flawlessly. Two days ago, during the morning inspection Jack had begun seizing. This wasn't the first time, but thus far Zack had managed to keep the seizures a secret from the trainers. Jack tried to remain still for as long as possible, but eventually he fell to the floor. All of them watched him with worried eyes as the guards dragged the boy away, but even this small sign of concern was greeted with a harsh command to keep their eyes forward. It was Max, his S.I.C. who discovered what had happened to Jack. Because of her shark DNA she had even less need for sleep than most of the others. It must have been fate that caused her to wander down the hall near the med. center that night. Hearing a muffled scream she poked her head around the corner. In horror she stared at Jack, strapped down to one of the tables, thrashing as some of the doctors inspected him opened abdominal cavity. It was when the light reflected off the shine of a coffee mug that Max first noticed Lydecker standing a few feet away from Jacks head. Silently she withdrew, sneaking back to the cell where the X-5s were kept. She woke Zack and within a few hours had come up with an escape plan, they would spend the next day briefing the others, the following would be spend collecting supplies and hacking through security systems. Zack would lead the others, while Max killed the guards ahead of the group without letting any of them alert Lydecker. It would have been perfect all 16 of them would escape, leaving in pairs to a designated place that only Zack knew of. Max and Zack would leave together and contact the others when it was safe.

Of course God has a cruel sense of humor. Then again, since you can't really call a group of genetically engineered killing machines "God's creations" maybe you should blame it on Murphy's Law instead of God. Either way, everything went to Hell in a very serious way. It was 2:30, about half an hour before morning inspection, nearly two days after Jack was carried away, that Max started having a seizure. Zack knew, how could he not after the hours of drilling in timing that he should have waited and let Max be taken if he wanted the best chance for escape. The others had been briefed, but the security system hadn't been shut down yet, but he hesitated. This was Max, his S.I.C., the only one that he allowed to help him when the pressures of trying to keep his family safe became too much. Knowing it was a mistake, he turned to Eva,

"Can you do it?" he whispered, half-hoping she didn't hear him. That was of course a vain hope thanks to their transgenic hearing. No explanation was needed, after Max, Eva was next in the chain of command. She knew that if anything happened to Max she would be depended upon to complete her part of the mission.

"Yes...I think I...Yes, Affirmative, sir. I can do it." Her uncertain answer did little to help Zack's worries. He was about to give up and wait out the day, and hope that Max survived until then. Glancing again at her, he felt his stomach clench. He knew that if she could speak she would tell him to stop being an idiot and forget about her. She was just as protective of her family as he was. But then he remembered what she had looked like the night she saw Jack. She had stood over his bed and after waking him just stared at him for a few minutes with tears gleaming in her huge doe brown eyes. She had started crying softly as she told him what she had seen. Zack was at first more surprised by her tears than what she was saying, Manticore was so strict about punishing emotions, the X-5s never even cried in private. Seeing those big eyes again, pained because of the seizure, he realized that he could never stand at attention while they dragged Max away.

Eva tried, and she was good. How could she not be? Still, one of the guards managed to alert Lydecker. So close to escape, the X-5s traveled with Zack following the trail of dead guards left by Eva, Jondy supporting Max as she began to recover. Zack caught up with them after killing the trainers who were supposed to conduct morning inspection. He froze when he heard the gun shot ahead of him. As they turned the corner, he stared Eva fell dead. He reacted quickly, dispatching as many of the guards as he could before signaling for the others to follow him as he went through the window. He only spared a glance as Dani was shot as they tried to make it over the fence. The next hour was a blur as they ran, Zack trying to stay in contact with the others. When he judged it safe to pause and reorganize he signaled for everyone to stop.

Signaling to each of them, he split them into groups of two and told them where to go. When he came to Max he decided to let her stay with Jondy. Seeing the look of surprise in her eyes he hoped she would understand that it wasn't that he thought she would slow him down, he just couldn't afford have on of the others on their own. He could take care of himself.

Each of the teams ran off in different directions, Jondy and Max running towards the lake. Behind them they could hear the gun shots. They couldn't know that Fio and Tom had been caught and killed. As they ran across the lake they could hear the men coming closer. Yet again the combination of Murphy's Law and God kicked in. The ice under Max's feet cracked, and she soon found herself plunged into ice cold water. Jondy turned ready to pull her out. Max, clinging to the side, but unable to pull herself up with the slippery surface, signaled for her to come no closer because the ice was slowly cracking near the hole Max was in. At the sound of the approaching soldiers, Jondy looked at Max with a mixture of panic and sorrow. Mouthing an apology she turned and ran. Max understood. Their was no way to get her out before the soldiers got there and then they'd both be dead. She had to save herself. She waited until the soldiers had almost gotten to her position before going under. She crawled on the bottom of the ice. She knew that she could hold her breath for nearly six minutes after that...better dead than Manticore. She was lucky, the soldiers left. It took her nearly and hour of treading in icy water before she got out.

She knew where to meet Jondy. It wouldn't take her long to catch up. Then, they would just have to wait until Zack contacted them. She stopped. Her mind flashed back to a practice mission they had done two years ago when she was six. It had been a disappointing lesson. Bryn had been shot with a paintball in what was declared a nonfatal place, which was penalized with a 10 minute slow down for her to imitate the time it would take to treat the wound, and in order the succeed in the limited amount of time, Zack decided to leave her. Bryn managed to wait out the time and catch up with the team. She had unfortunately been followed, had the mission been real, many of their team could have been killed. Max couldn't risk it. As she walked through the woods she saw a pair of headlights. As the car went by she could see a blond woman in the driver's seat. She was tempted to step onto the side of the road, maybe she would help her, maybe not...but it would be so much warmer in that car. Again, she hesitated. She recognized that woman, she worked at Manticore. Sighing, she continued.

1 month later

Max curled up as well as she could in the corner of the alley. She had managed to steal a sweatshirt that was about five sizes too big. Well, it was five sizes too big about three weeks ago, since then she'd lost about fifteen pounds. She still had her Manticore issued blue cotton pants. It was cold. A different sort of cold than she was used to. At Manta core, the winters had been brutal, but she hadn't been completely dry since she had gotten off the plane in England that she'd snuck onto and it was starting to get to her. 'Oh well,' she mused, a bitter smile twisting her face, 'freezing is better than Manticore any day.'

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Lupin looked out the window of the pub he'd at for the past few hours. He really hadn't drunk anything more than one or two glasses of beer. He knew that thinking about his problems for so long wouldn't do him any good. He had a job working in a library, mostly organizing ancient documents and the like. Of course when his employer found out about his "illness" he was given the boot. Now, just a day after being fired he had to meet with Severus Snape, at Dumbledore insistence, Snape was willing to help Lupin by making him the Wolfsbane Potion. Of course since the potion was still having some of the kinks worked out he need several materials from Lupin, hair, skin, etc. Lupin looked at the slushy snow falling outside, 'The full moon isn't for two weeks yet, he didn't really need to meet with him tonight.' He gave himself a mental shake before paying his bill and leaving. Walking slowly down the street he thought back. Meeting Snape brought back memories. He still felt a pang when he thought of his old friends. James and Lilly had been killed, betrayed by Black. And their son, Harry...he'd be 9 years old now. Lupin hoped that he was happy with his muggle family. Lupin had wanted to take him, but who would give a child like Harry to a werewolf. He turned hearing something that sounder like a whimper. He peered down an alley. Looking closely he made out a human shape. He was just going to continue, he had always sympathized with the homeless, but there were many of them, most of which couldn't be helped. The population of homeless had begun to swell since the pulse had caused muggle technology to fail in the US only a week ago, sending a wave of immigrants. His nose gave it away though, it wasn't near the full moon, but it was still sensitive enough to tell the difference between a drunken old man and a little girl. He could also smell blood.

"Child," he said in a soft soothing voice as he inched forward, "I don't want to hurt you. I want to help. Can you tell me your name?" He could make her out more clearly now. She was skinny, too skinny, and though she didn't seem filthy, she had a layer of grime ad a generally unkempt appearance. Her short dark hair was spiky and unkempt. Her dark eyes looked feverish, and though they looked hallow her increased breathing and the trembling of her lips gave away her uncertainty.

Licking her lips she muttered out a stream of numbers under her breath. She bit her lip, and looked him in the eye. Her nose flared once like an animal scenting the air before she lifted her chin in a determined sort of way and said, "Max, my name is Max." The look in her eyes determined, but she seemed like she was expecting to be punished.

Smiling in what he hoped was an encouraging way, he held out his hand saying, "Well Max, my name is Remus Lupin. I'm getting reading to go to a healer about getting some...medicine. You seem cold here. Would you like to come with me?" Max wasn't sure whether or not to trust him, he didn't seem like a pedophile or anything, but there was really no way to know. So far his body language had seemed benevolent. Oh well, there is so much of a fight one can put up when their hands and feet are numb, and all of their limbs were staring to stiffen. Mentally crossing her fingers, she took his hand.

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Snape was not having a nice evening. Dumbledore had asked him to help the werewolf who he hated to control his illness by mixing a nearly impossible potion. Fine. Said werewolf decided that arriving nearly half an hour late was acceptable. Lovely. But when the man decided to bring with him a child, a muggle as a spell soon determined, who looked like she hadn't eaten for a week, and had been beaten half to death expecting him to help, this was a little over the top. Mixing a healing potion should be a calm, careful thing, instead Snape was throwing in ingredients as hard as he could, wishing the cauldron would explode. After dosing the half conscious child he stood back while Lupin preformed some cleaning spells on the girl and her clothes. Snape frowned, the potion should be working, but it seemed like the injuries were taking longer than they should to heal. As Snape reached across her to check the cut on her arm, her hand whipped up and grabbed his wrist. As he tried to move his hand her grip tightened dangerously. He opened his mouth to order her to release him when he looked into her eyes. They were cold and hard.

"Max, this is Professor Snape. He is the healer I told you about," Lupin said. Snape raised his eyebrow at the word 'healer', but didn't complain as the girl let go of his wrist. Wonderful, another smart assed brat to deal with. Glad to see his Winter Break was good for getting away from work. It wasn't that he hated children, he was just so sick of brats that thought they were so important just because they could wave a wand and say a few spells. Snape longed for just a few students who could respect their teachers without making it pathetically obvious that they had no talent and were just trying to get their teachers to go easy on them. But you rarely get what you want.

His eyes snapped wide when he heard a firm voice saying, "Sir, I apologize. You have helped me and I have been ungrateful. Please accept my regrets." He looked at the girl getting ready to scold her for being mouthy, but stopped just short. She lay there, with a bruise on her upper cheek and a split lip, her hair stiff and barely more than fuzz. She was skinny couldn't have been ten years old. But her eyes were serious and older than they should have been. She looked him in the eye, and she didn't seem scared or cocky, just...prepared.

"Apology accepted," he muttered. She was a muggle, but at least she had manners. "You should try to sleep. This potion is working slower than it should be and rest should speed it up."

Please Review. Good bad whatever. I love you for reading. Love you more for reviewing.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclamer: Still don't own it

HI! Yay! I got a review.

Quick WARNING: nothing graphic or anything, but there is something in this chapter that might offend…explanation (I'm a hard core Bio major so I know these things) when a cat goes into heat it means she is physically able to carry a litter, same thing for when girls start their periods. Most girls start around age 12. So, it makes sense even if it is politically incorrect.

Ummm…please enjoy.

Allen Pitt: Thanks so much…actually a lot of what you said was a really good guess. Congrats. As far as I know, the Pulse only effect the US. Tell me if I'm wrong. Thanks

Chapter 1

9 August, 2015

Harry was for the first time that summer, happy. He embraced Ron and Hermione in the kitchen of Black Manor. This summer had been hard for him. Cedric had never been a close friend of Harry's, but it had hurt him to see him die. He and his friends talked for hours, Harry could not bring himself to hold the summer's silence against his close friends. Mrs. Weasley had let the stay in the kitchen talking, telling them that tonight was theirs for catching up so long as they woke before too late in the morning, but after this night she would see to it that they went to sleep at an earlier hour.

They were talking quietly when Snape and Mrs. Weasley walked in together. Harry stared. He had never seen Snape and Mrs. Weasley talking together so…civilly.

"I know you and Remus have said that she can take care of herself. But Merlin, she's just a little girl, hardly older than Ginny. She was due back hours ago." Mrs. Weasley sounded worried.

"Mrs. Weasley, I have told you this many times, so I will try one more time, as plainly as I can. I have met, and taught as well as I can, many children. They come, learn a little, grow a little, and leave. At the end of this process I am glad enough never to be bothered by them again. I have met many different types of children. Max will be fine. When she returns you can ask her to be more punctual. Other than that you are fretting like a mother hen. Stop wasting my time." Alright, maybe civil wasn't the word for it. Snape was beginning to sound annoyed.

Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to say more, when something that sounded an awful lot like firecrackers went off upstairs. Already screaming at the twins Mrs. Weasley stormed out of the room, Snape leaving soon after. Harry gave his friends a questioning look.

"Oh," Ron seemed to suddenly remember that Harry didn't know what the adults had been talking about, "Mum's just all worried 'bout Max. She's Lupin's adopted daughter. Dark hair, dark eyes, about our age too. She's real nice looking if you know what I mean. Friendly too. She's coming to Hogwarts this year with us. Wonder if she might go to the ball with me…you know seeing as she doesn't know anyone…" at this point Ron was just babbling.

Hermione gave a frustrated sigh, she had obviously been dealing with him for a while, "What Ron was trying to say is Max is actually a muggle girl, she's just going to Hogwarts this year because Lupin doesn't feel she'd be safe while he's doing work for the order now that You Know Who is back. I heard that even though she's a muggle Lupin had her tutored at home in muggle skills and basic magic theory and history. Snape taught her how to make potions, and she'll be acting as a teacher's aid of some sorts. She's been missing for over two days now. Lupin said not to worry, but…well it's just so odd for her to disappear without a word."

Harry thought it over. He hadn't even met the girl yet, but there hadn't been a year thus far that someone hadn't betrayed him. Pushing the thought away Harry changed the subject, and the three were soon off to bed.

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Lupin idly tapped his finger on the wooden surface of the table. Over the years he had learned that Max, despite her small build and inability to do magic, could take care of herself. Still, he was in the habit of worrying about her after she passed the two day mark.

He could still remember the first day he brought her to Snape. She had been so serious and lost. Everything had seemed like a surprise to her. At first Lupin had thought that she was just surprised by all the magic being preformed in the wizarding world. But, it soon became apparent that magic was not what surprised her. It was obvious enough that she was in fact a muggle, but she took everything magical in stride, it was everyday life that seemed to leave her unbalanced. It didn't take Lupin long to realize that she hardly ever slept and often snuck out at night, but it had taken her about a month to get out of the habit of having her bed perfectly made and standing straight as a rod next to her bed until Remus came to get her for breakfast in the morning. Though everything from travel, to going outside for walks or in town, or even reading seemed to fascinate her, unless he told her to do a certain activity she would just sit with her back strait staring at the wall.

She had changed so much since them. It had taken her longer than it should have to heal from her injuries with the potions, but as soon as she was well enough Lupin had made the adoption legal. It seemed the magical world had fewer qualms entrusting a muggle into his care than they did Harry Potter. Still, he wouldn't trade Max for any other child, magical or muggle. Once she trusted him more, she began to show him flashes of her true self. She was a spunky energetic girl who seemed to naturally take care of anyone who seemed to need it.

It had taken Lupin a week to notice that she snuck out almost every night. At first it had worried him, but after an awkward conversation one morning which ended in the mutual understanding that Max would keep herself safe, and Lupin wouldn't ask too many questions. When she was eleven, she went missing for nearly a week, when she came back things were different. He had come up with this grand scolding lecture, but when Max came home she seemed like she had reached a decision. She looked sad, but she smiled and said, "If it's alright I want to stay with you." From then on she seemed to come out of her shell in leaps and bounds. Her stoic self only showed itself on rare occasions now.

Still about a year after that, every two weeks or so she would leave for two days at a time. It was not a surprise when she left, she would become fidgety and snappy for about a day before she left. No matter how many times she left though, Lupin worried. It was probably due to the condition in which he found her. Logically he knew that the family that she had run away from, who had hurt her so badly, could no longer get to her, but still…It was an intangible thing, but it existed. Sometimes in the most normal situations Max would suddenly go still and seem to remember something from long ago and all Lupin could think about was that first empty look she had in her eyes.

The opening of the door brought Lupin out of his reverie. Lupin looked up to see Harry. He felt a moment of surprise, he hadn't really said much to the boy since he had gotten to Black manor. He cleared his throat before saying, "Harry, what are you doing up so late?"

Harry shrugged as if unable to come up with a real reason before saying, "I just couldn't sleep. Professor, ummm…I know it isn't my business or anything, but well you see, I heard Mrs. Weasley and Snape talking about it, and then Ron and Hermione told me, and well, I…I was wondering, do you really have a daughter…adopted daughter I mean?"

Lupin smiled faintly at Harry, "Ah, yes, Max. Actually, you've caught me at one of my bad habits: waiting for Max. She's a good girl, but I think she would run wild if she didn't know I was home waiting for her."

"You know," a female voice said from the door which lead to the garden, "in polite society it's usually considered rude to talk bout someone like they aren't there when they're in earshot." Stepping out of the shadows, the voice's owner revealed herself to be a young woman. "Sorry I'm late, I ran into a guy who didn't understand the meaning of 'back off'. Then I played a little game of hide-and-seek with a few of his friends who didn't like the idea of their friend getting the crap beaten out of him by a girl half his size."

Harry was a bit taken aback at how casual she was with the professor. It was understandable, given that they lived together, he just couldn't imagine Lupin as anything more casual than a friendly professor. They spoke for a while. Harry found Max to be friendly, but whenever he brought up the subject of what she had been doing for the past few days she changed the subject.

As the summer wore on Max became just another person in the house. In many ways, even though she was a muggle, she was just like all of the other underaged wizards in the house. It was a surprise to them all when they saw her with Snape. It wasn't that Snape was any less…Snapeish, he just seemed to trust her. It seemed that once she had his respect they formed something resembling a friendship. Whatever the case, it was obvious that Snape preferred her company to that of any of his students, and most of the adults.

Though it seemed that she was at more ease with the professors, she wasn't really treated any differently. She wasn't allowed into the Order meetings, and it seemed that she didn't know anything more than they did about Voldemort. When it seemed that Black got along well enough with her, Harry's suspicions began to lessen. All of the teens did feel a pang of envy though when they found out that Max snuck out every night. When the twins decided to try using Max's escapes to support their noble cause of getting their curfew removed Mrs. Weasley turned and interesting shade of red before saying, "When you can get through a week without nearly blowing yourselves up with your little experiments and practical jokes we'll see about getting your curfew changed. And besides shouldn't you be studying, don't think for and instance that I've forgotten about your performance on the O.W.L.S." After listening to the screaming that the twins were receiving the others decided not to breech the subject with Mrs. Weasley.

They were reaching the middle of August when Mrs. Weasley decided that they needed to spend more time cleaning the manor if they wanted it livable by the time they left for school. While Harry, Ron, and Hermione worked on trying to clean out the extensive silverware drawer, most of which was somehow enchanted, Max began cleaning out a dust room. They had been talking about the quidditch when they heard a scream come from the room Max was cleaning in.

They ran into the room find Max sitting on her heals, trembling, with tears running down her face. In front of her lying on the floor were eleven children dressed in what looked like blue hospital clothes, a little younger than first years with shaved heads and black markings on the back of their necks. All of them were dead, most of them had pools of dark red blood spreading slowly away from their bodies. There was a boy about their age with blond hair and deep blue eyes, though it was hard to tell they were so blood shot and swollen. He didn't have a shirt on, and it seemed obvious from the cuts, burns and bruises that he must have been tortured, most of his fingers were at odd angles, and the insides of both of his elbows showed the signs of being injected with something several times.

The man manage to croak out a few words from his cracked and swollen lips, "Maxie…you've gotta get away…Lydecker is". That was all he got out before a man seemed to appear from out of nowhere right behind Max. He grabbed her by the hair pushing her forward so that her forehead hit the floor. On the back of her neck was a black mark like the ones on those of the children. Hermione could from where she was standing see that it was a barcode of some sort.

The man looked at the barcode and kept Max's head down before shouting out, "State you designation!" Max's trembling increased. By this time were trying, unsuccessfully to attract the boggart's attention away from Max. Hermione ran into the hall and started calling for help. Harry and Ron watched with morbid fascination as the man holding Max's hair brought a metal object out of his coat and pulled the trigger causing the back of the blond man's head to explode. Ron ran to the corner of the room and got sick while Harry fought the urge to follow when he saw the brain matter hit the wall.

Max let out a low moan and started clawing at the floor like she was trying to crawl towards the dead man, "Zack? Zack….no, please…" she started sobbing, her shoulders shaking slowly.

The man holding her down said again "State your designation!" After a moment Max started mumbling out an incomprehensible series of numbers. Harry wanted to go help her, he had never seen so much blood, but he was frozen to the spot. Watching as Max curled her self into a ball even as the man held her hair exposing the barcode on the back of her neck, and muttered a stream of numbers, occasionally crying out words that sounded like names.

Lupin, Snape, and Mrs. Weasley arrived at about the same time. Mrs. Weasley cried out when she saw the blood and gore covering the floor. Lupin searched the room for a moment, taking in the dead bodies that looked so much like Max on the night he had found her, before landing on the girl herself. Lupin had never seen her so broken down; it was hard to connect the sobbing girl with the Max which had been living with him for years. They stared at the seen for a moment before Lupin stepped forward and cast a spell to set off an explosion which startled the boggart into refocusing its attention onto Lupin. He quickly dispatched it and went to Max.

When he knelt to comfort her she shook him off and stood up saying in a cold voice that she didn't want to talk about it. Max ran until she reached the small town of Faerilane. It was a fairly quaint village; usually in Max wanted to get out at night she would go to a muggle city, or one of the larger wizarding cities, such as Govinsmoor. Tonight through she was more than happy with a seat in the back of the town's quiet pub. There, she phoned Zack.

Zack had found her when she was eleven. She had wanted to go with him like they had originally planned on the night of the escape, but he convinced her to stay. Max was confused, if anything she had thought that he would have been against her staying in one place for so long, but he said that she was safer in the magical community than he could arrange for her to be in the muggle world. It took her a while to realize just how much he wanted to keep her safe. When she argued that she could have been more help taking care of the others, he asked her to stay so that she could research cloaking charms that might help the others. She had agreed, though she wasn't sure if she could ever find a charm to help her siblings. It seemed, much like the healing potion, most magic seemed to have little effect on transgenics. After researching she found that the reaction was similar to one found when spells were used on magical creatures. Well, most magic; some thinks like floo powder and cleaning spells worked fine. In the end Max wasn't to saddened by the way things turned out, she would have missed the protective werewolf.

Though she missed Zack she knew she couldn't complain. She called him once a week, she had been happy to discover that cell phones worked so long as no one in the room was doing powerful magic, and she was off Hogwarts grounds, and he managed to make it to visit each of them once a month. She smiled a little thinking that in a way she got special treatment; though he spent a little under a day, sometimes the night at each of the others' homes, he usually stayed a few days with her.

A lot changed when she was twelve. She started her heat cycles. The fist time it happened she didn't know what was going on. She had run as far into the woods as she could and called Zack. He had heard about the same thing happening to Tinga, so he had a fairly good idea what was going on. He had spent hours taking to her while she hid in the forest. Because it was her first cycle, it passed fairly quickly. She was thirteen the next time she went into heat, and Zack was visiting. Though they hadn't really said so out loud both of them by that time knew that the feeling they had for each other weren't brotherly or sisterly. Not that it would have matter for about the first day. It turns out that when transgenic females go into heat, the males can smell it. More importantly, just like male cats they react instantly to it. Zack broke a man's nose and scared the living hell out of two others when he thought they were getting to close to Max before they could get a room. To be honest very little of the first few hours of heat were sweet or gentle. It was all a blur of teeth, blood and sex. It slowed down over the rest of the first day, and on the second they were actually able to have normal conversations without attacking each other. Max had been going into heat twice a month since then. Zack was only in town once a month, so Max had learned how to avoid people when Zack wasn't there. When he was, it usually played out similarly to the first heat. It was probably a good thing that she had decided to start stealing birth control along with Tryptophan after her first heat. The unfortunate male that managed to meet Max while she was in heat, and alone was greeted with what seemed to be a girl who was crawling the walls to get some. For some reason though, maybe the animal DNA had given her an instinct to keep a mate for life or something, as soon as any male got too close her aggressive side kicked in urging her to fight him, and see if he was good enough to take the place of her mate.

But that night had nothing to do with sex, or even friendly conversation. She called to be reassured that Zack and the others were okay. Though he never told her what cities they lived in or gave her any specifics about their lives, they often spoke of their siblings and how to best keep them safe. Max knew he only kept it from her for her own safety, but she worried about them.

For the rest of the summer, everyone avoided the subject of the boggart. No one said anything about how haggard Max looked when she got back the next morning, and everyone tried not to shudder when they passed the room in which they expected to see dead bodies and blood across the floor. Slowly, they were able to pretend it didn't happen. Though, Hermione, Ron, and Harry sometimes spoke of it, wondering what to do with this clue about Max's strange past. Hermione seemed to think that she must have come from some children's hospital that had been attacked by terrorists of some sort. If she were American, Max would have been about the age of the dead children during the Pulse when people starting acting so crazily. The barcodes still troubled her though.

On the 25th of August Max left, saying that she had to get some things from her home to transport to Hogwarts and set up in the dongeons. In actuality, she met up with Zack. Because Lupin had told her how to reach Hogwarts she could see it even though she was a muggle. She took Zack, and together they reviewed the secret passages of the school, and decided to use the Shreiking Shack as a meeting place. It would probably be the easiest place for her to call him from too. They spent a few sweet days together, and Max went into heat for the second time that month before Zack had to leave.

Max went to her room in the castle, and recited her barcode to the picture of the wood nymph outside of her door. She had chosen her password for the irony instead of sentimentality. God knows that she would never be able to forget it. She gave smile thinking about setting up a scanner in place of the picture, so it could just read her barcode and save her the time of reciting. 'Wouldn't that get a few rumors started' As she lay across the bed, still fully clothed she stared at the ceiling. After a moment she decided to get some sleep, the students arrived tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for reading. I love you all. PLEASE review. Good or bad it doesn't matter.


	3. Chapter 2 and IMPORTANT INFO

IMPORTANT READ THIS PART

OK…so here's the thing, I started school and this is my senior year. It's easier, but I have to apply to scholarships and all. I'm also looking for another job. I also started to get into some REALLY good Alec/Max fics (Hot, Sweet, Heat and (I think I'm spelling the pen name wrong) caddyable's Alternative Dark Angel (title is prob. wrong too)). More importantly I have commitment issues. So here it is. This is the basic summary of the story from where I stopped.

Now, this is not to say that I will not cont. this story. I might. Maybe, possibly. Idealy, I would love someone to take what I have and write it for me, or steal a couple of ideas and put together a story. If you do, you have my blessing just PLEASE tell me so that I can read it.

Some of these scenes I really get bored with and just skimmed over. I realize that the Harry character development is completely underemphasized even though it would happen. Some parts though, I have planned to exact detail. So, if there is one or two scenes in particular that you want written out review me and I'll try to put something together. Thanks so much. I really do love you all. And the reviews were wonderful beyond anything.

Oh, one last thing…I just have an idea swimming around in my head about a crossover (maybe potter, but prob. x-men) with DA. It would be either M/Z or M/A. Anyways, either they never escaped(M/Z) or were all captured within a year or 2 and Zack killed himself to save Max (M/A). Manticore puts them in breeding pairs as soon as they find out about heat just to see the reaction. Max really does love whoever she is with, but she doesn't realize until it's too late that manticore is just using even her feelings against her. At 11 (more mature mentally and physically remember) she is pregnet. She ends up forcing a miscarriage upon herself so that manticore can't have the baby. They revolt and over through manticore. They try to blend. They all stay together for support and to take care of the younger Xs. Some of them leave what ever their main area is to go off and steal stuff and send back the money. Alec or Zack in charge depending upon pairing. During one of the heists Maz and ? get envolved with the crossover. By the way their relationship is kinda screwed up because even though they love each other, they were used by Manticore because of it and are afraid that by loving each other they are giving into what Manticore would want. Also, they would love a baby, but they would be scared for it because they are still on the run. What do you think.? Anyone interested enough to write it for me?

Here is what I had started for what was going to be the next chapter

1 September 2015

As the students streamed into the Great Hall, going to their respective tables Harry looked through the mass trying to pick out familiar faces. He grinned a little as he looked up at the enchanted ceiling. It was good to be surrounded by magic again. He had spent the entire summer blaming himself for Cedric's death, and growing annoyed as time went by. He wanted so badly to become stronger, but all of the books that he read for school just stressed defence and everyday application for spells.

Harry loved magic, all of it. But it was impractical for him to spend so much time studying the history of goblin wars when Voldemort and his followers where trying to kill his friends. While he was shopping for school supplies he had found a book in the back of the store. The cover was dusty and the title had worn away. He flipped through a few of the pages, hoping to kill time while his friends finished shopping. The writing had been small, cramped, and flowing. Harry had little luck making out the words in the dim light in the back of the store, but managed to read the section titles. Most of them dealt with offensive magic, and startigies. Their wa a good deal of defence and protection, but it also included a section on the application of dark magic.

Harry had bought the book out of curiosity. He had expected that much of it would be like an advanced DADA book, with perhaps more details, or first hand accounts of battles. Instead, in the few hours Harry had used to start the book, he had found that the book seemed to be filled with strickt rules and tactics which were supposed to help in battle. The more Harry read, the more he wanted to learn what the book had to teach. But as he continued, he soon found that much of the instruction in the book was uncomprhensible to him. Much of it was too complicated for him to understand without asking for help, and that was out of the question. So Harry continued to read the book which seemed to hint at the skills which he needed without ever grasping how to use the words which he read.

He was shaken from his thinking by Ron, as the red head whispered to him, "Hey look! Over there next to Snape. It's Max. Oh, wow doesn't she look great in those robes? I wonder if she'll be at the teacher's table all year, or if she'll be willing to eat with us…I mean we are her friends right?"

Harry was saved from trying to answer that by Hermione, who quickly pointed out, "We've only known her for a few weeks, though Dumbledore must respect her if he's willing to allow her to be a teaching aide at her age." Harry was about to agree when Dumbledore motioned for everone to sit down. The evening went smoothly, Max received a round of applause after being introduced, the food was wonderful, the first years were sorted, and everyone nearly fell asleep during Prof. Umbridge's speech.

Harry had been laying in bed for about an hour when it finally dawned on him that he wasn't going to get any sleep that night.

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OK heres the summary

Harry gets tutored from Max about the military like stuff in the book he found about dark arts and military strategy. Harry gets a better character. It's announced that there will be a Halloween ball. There's a trip to Hogsmead. Max and Harry meet Lupin, but Max says that she needs to go do something. Harry sees a Death Eater talking to Max asking about information, he assumes because she isn't freaking out or anything that she must be a spy, but he likes her(as a friend) so he doesn't want to accept it and just tells Ron and Hermione so that they keep a closer eye on her. Max tells the Death Eater that was trying to recruit her with the promise that she wouldn't be killed to shove it and manages to get away. She goes to the Shrieking Shack(Harry and co. aren't following) and calls Zack. He agrees to come to the dance since costumes are required and it's only a day or two before her heat anyways.

At some point in potions they're going to make a paternity/maternity test potion. Hermione will notice that Max doesn't want to go near it. They'll get some hair or something test it and end up with a weird stream of letters…the base pairs of her DNA. They don't recognize it, but somehow Umbridge is going to get her hands on the paper it's on. Halloween Ball: she goes as a 'dark angel'(sorry couldn't resist). Cool dress, think Phedre's low in the back dress if you've ever read Kushiel's Dart. Zack shows…yay romance and hot monkey love. I'm not sure if Harry recognizes him as the guy from her boggart illusion or not.

Eventually they go to Dumbledore with their suspicions, they think that she must be reporting to Voldemort or taking a potion to hide the fact that she's a witch or keep her resistant to magic or something when she goes missing for a few days at a time, so they decide to find a way to make her stay the next time she tries to leave and see if something happens, or if she fights to get away to follow her. Snape agrees to help only because he has complete faith in her. They pretty much bog her down with work and make it obvious to her that if she tries to leave she'll be followed. She's helping Snape with detention, Harry, Ron, Draco, and Hermione I think will be the ones in there along with Snape. She's in heat and trying hard to fight it. She keeping on coming on way to strong to the guys and then basically trying to provoke them into a fight to see if any on them are strong enough to be worth her time when she knows that her mate is out their somewhere. Hermione runs to Dumbledore for help, he gets there and with Snape's help manages to knock her out and drag the her away from the boys(yeah she's coming onto Snape to, he just if more of a fathering figure and can resist better). They lock her in the dungeon and try to figure out what the hell is going on. She wakes up and begins snarling and scratching at the door trying to get out. Zack eventually shows up, if Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't recognize him at the dance they do now, gets past all the people guarding Max's door, threatens and causes some semiserious bodily harm, gets to Max, they run like have a sexy passionate kiss and a minute to grind before they run for the forest like bats out of hell.

Lupin gets called in because obviously Max is a little more than she seems. She comes back to the castle manages to get away with some half truths and an assurance that her secret has nothing to do with the magical community, and the only reason that she is on any side in the magical war is because she cares about Lupin and Snape. They agree to let her stay, but everyone is keeping an eye on her.

Umbridge, who has shared the paternity results with her superiors, gets an order from the ministry, who is being influenced by Lucius, who is controlled by Voldemort, who is cutting a deal with Renfro dealing with soldiers for magical strength, to begin looking for the person who produced the results. They come up with a new bogus rule saying that the ministry requires that everyone submits a blood sample to be tested for illegal potions. Max somehow finds out what Umbridge's ulterior motive is. Zack shows up and kills Umbridge, Lydecker frames Max, Zack turns himself in.

Max spends all summer depressed goes 452 mode completely perfect soldier training, she contacts her sibs. and tries to take care of them, saves/kills Ben, starts helping Harry learn how to fight, and asks Lupin for help getting Zack back in exchange for telling the truth about who she is. She gets back Zack, the wizards that go with her see some disturbing things at the military base, Max manages to feed Lupin more half truths that only cover the tip of the iceberg. Once Zack is stable they run for it.

They contact their sibs. and eventually after Lydecker finds out that Renfro killed Tinga, who was captured earlier, he helps Max and Zack try to take down Manitcore. Captured, Zack kills himself, they fix him up, because of Max's heat she and Zack get placed as breeding partners sans contraceptives. They break out with Alec and Bryn's (a couple now) help, the double back and release all the soldiers and blow up the base.

Meanwhile Harry keeps studying and practicing, the war with Voldy is now acknowledged by the magical community and he is getting extra help (familiars). Lupin is still depressed about Max. Hermione comes back from some break having heard about transgenics on the TV. Everyone gets interested and they do spells to keep up with the news. A photo of Max shows up from TC. She has a baby with her (cat gestation period, maybe twins because of litters and all).

They go show Lupin and Dumbledore. Eventually it all work out that the good guys help each other to bring down the bad guys. A couple of horrifying revelation scenes were the Potter gang find out about how awful a Manitcore childhood really is. I'd want some transgenic-human interaction like the press or some senators because that always seems interesting to me. Ummm….that's about it.

Hope it was Okay….love you lots of chocolates worth.


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